To honor our dear Ariel, we are announcing today the establishment of the Ariel Rose Memorial Fund. We have found the perfect non-profit partner in the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and specifically with their new project, Restore Oakland.

Now under construction just minutes from our house, Restore Oakland is opening this spring. It will be a beautiful center offering hands-on job training and restorative justice mediation, as well as a cooperative food enterprise incubator and restaurant – all in one space.

Restore Oakland is well-funded and well-run, so every dollar you donate to the Ariel Rose Memorial Fund will directly impact the realization of this inspiring project. Also, they are dedicating a mural at Restore Oakland in Ariel’s memory. How great is that?

Ariel would have loved Restore Oakland. She grew up in Oakland and from an early age displayed a keen sensitivity to others. Ariel reached out across racial, ethnic, religious, gender and cultural differences to connect, to build friendship, and to speak truth to injustice. She was a passionate advocate for progressive change throughout her life. At UC Berkeley she studied social welfare and education, and her dream was to make a difference in the lives of marginalized youth in East Oakland. So truly, Restore Oakland will embody the values that Ariel held so dear.

We are starting the Ariel Rose Memorial Fund with $20,000 of our own money. With your help, we would love to bring the total to $50,000 by June 1 when Restore Oakland will be fully operational. Please visit the Ariel Rose Memorial Fund page to learn more about Restore Oakland.

Donations to the Fund are tax-deductible through the Ella Baker Center. Please visit the Ariel Rose Memorial Fund page to donate.